7:45: 3 other cars show up, one forgot something (like a kid), goes back home for it.

7:47: Guy who sent email wanders around trying to do a head count and complains about people being unreliable.

7:48: Single mom shows up, blames her ex for giving her the wrong time.

7:50 Another car shows up. Driver asks if we want anything from Starbucks, then leaves to go get his own.

7:51: Guy who sent email starts calling people who aren't there but had confirmed. 50% of the time he gets voicemail, 50% he wakes them up.

7:55: Person who left to get something from home is back.

8:00 Guy who went to Starbucks returns. Got my order wrong.

8:05: Email guy finally gives up, announces everyone should follow him to the day's activity, discovers he left address at home, calls and wakes up his wife to look for it on the kitchen counter.

8:15 After we all leave, insane parents who showed afterwards call and ask as to come back to the parking lot so they can follow, too. Email guy makes an illegal U-turn to go back, and we all follow him. Because we are morons. And the local traffic cop turns on his lights and siren.

This is happening in the day of Google Maps ("row across Pacific Ocean, then continue 3 miles to ....) and GPS (Take exit ramp 1/2 mile back)? Or is the location a souper seekret (the only farmer left in a 50-mile radius who will still let you roast weenies over a real fire)?

LOL! I remember those days, I was a scoutmaster's daughter. It seemed we spent an hour or two playing at the school's playground weekend mornings waiting for people. I am thinking having cell phones makes things worse.

In college my Botany professor would announce field trip times by saying "we are LEAVING at 7:00 am" and he meant it. One guy drove over 300 miles in his own car to catch up with the group and then another put 400 miles on his car, since the field trip was required.

I guess I didn't know how lucky we were that our son refused to participate in Scouting. Can'tblame him much, the organizational meeting was anything but organized and the scoutmaster looked like a cross between a used car salesman and a child molester. (Apologies to the GOOD used car salesmen here.)

When I was a committee chair, it was assemble time, and fifteen minutes later departure time. No exceptions, worked great. @anon 849. We didn't do any of the things you ascribe to group. But I will tell you that a big problem we had was 17 yo coming outs suddenly having too much interest in 12 yos. So asking them to leave was not anti gay, so much As it was preventing predation. It was never an enjoyable undertaking, but it was something that parents would expect from another parent who had children in his care.

"Dear Parents: Please check in at 7:00 so we have time to load the vehicles and run all the kids through the bathroom. Carpools will depart at 7:30. I will leave a map in the office so that those who arrive at 7:31 (or later) can drive themselves to the event." Be tough the first couple times and it's amazing how people manage to be prompt after that.

This sounds a lot like what my husband refers to as being on "punk rock time" whenever I ask what time things are going on at some of the dive-ier venues he plays at. I wouldn't have expected it from the boy scouts, though.

I was a Girl Scout leader. The directions were arrive at x, leave at x plus 15 minutes for those who wished to car pool or were dropping their children off with the group. Directions were handed out ahead so anyone driving themselves or arriving late could find their way. I was known as the strict leader but we had lots of fun once the parents got used to following rules.

I guess my troop was much different. I don't understand the pseudo-religious cult as all religions are welcome; however, it is a mainly non-denominational (Christian) organization (would be nice if for example humanists were included). Many of us (Eagle Scouts) are working to change the ways gay are thought of by the BSA.

Would a cruise ship wait on passengers before embarking ?Do airlines hold the plane at the gate for the time awarness challenged among us ? NO and NO, Does this waffling on time requirements constitute yet another afront to civilized norms. YES. Does this failure to adhere to schedule sent a poor message to our youth. WITHOUT QUESTION.Someone needs to talk to the Scoutmaster. I nominate Grumpy. hehehe.

I went to the National Scout Jamboree in 1981. It probably would have been just as fun and educational (and a lot more efficient) if we'd withdrawn a bunch of money from my parents' bank account, made a big pile of cash in a vacant lot somewhere, poured gasoline on it, and set it on fire. And about a decade later, I wouldn't have found out that I'd spent 2 weeks camping in a field full of dioxin and other industrial toxins.

Also, I notice that you talk about how the Eagle ceremony is worth the years invested in watching your kid work to get there, and NOT about how it's worth your own time and effort if you're the kid in question.

Welcome to my whining!

This blog is entirely for entertainment purposes. All posts about patients may be fictional, or be my experience, or were submitted by a reader, or any combination of the above. Factual statements may or may not be accurate.

Singing Foo!

Have Dr. Grumpy delivered automatically to your Kindle for only 99 cents a month! Sign up here!

Dr. Grumpy is for hire! Need an article written (humorous, medical, or otherwise) or want to commission a genuine Grumpy piece for your newspaper/magazine/toilet paper roll? Contact me to discuss subjects. You can reach me at the email address below, or through my Linked-In profile.

Note: I do not answer medical questions. If you are having a medical issue, see your own doctor. For all you know I'm really a Mongolian yak herder and have no medical training at all except in issues regarding the care and feeding of Mongolian yaks.